Never Truly Alone
by The Small But Powerful One
Summary: This is the story of Elizabeth Bryn and her time at Torchwood. New member of the team. After Exit Wounds but Tosh and Owen are alive. Not compliant with CoE. Either T/O E/OC or E/O T/OC all other pairings are canon. Old enemies will return.
1. Journal Entry One

My name is Elizabeth Ann Bryn (pronounced brin); I was born on October 16th, 1990. I'm technically American because I was born there, I have an American citizenship and an extremely strong American accent but when I was just three years old I moved to Britain. I'm an orphan and I have been all of my life when I was just a few days old I was found outside of the Raeburn orphanage. I was left on the front step in a basket with only a thin blanket covering me and a silver locket around my neck. I have always been unusual, strange things always happen around me it scares some people but I'm use to it because it's always been like that, the one constant in my life.

I've always been a loner of sorts simply because I'm nerdy which usually scares people away and if it doesn't then my appearance does. I'm extremely short and I always have been. I'm currently 5' 2" and at 18 years old I probably won't get much taller. I have dark brown hair that falls in loose ringlets to my waist. I'm pale, really pale. I wish I could say I have a wonderfully curvy body but I don't. My hips are basically non existent and I while my breasts are average for my height that doesn't mean their very big. You're probably thinking why would that scare people away because that sounds pretty ordinary? No the strange thing about me are my eyes. I have very unusual eyes; there is a ring of dark green around my pupils then a ring of silver and then another ring of green. I've been told countless times throughout my life that they are 'witch eyes' but I don't really mind cause their unique and I like being unique. Of course I have no problem with that.

I have powers. I'm not trying to sound like some crazy person now but it's true. They've always been there something just beyond my consciousness that's different. When I'm feeling strong negative emotions they come out. It's hard to explain it. It's almost like there are two me's, I named them when I was little and the names kind of stuck. The normal me is just Elizabeth or Lizzie but that other part of me is Fox. I know strange name but it was what my young mind came up with and in some ways it fits. Fox is the part of we that is cunning and sneaky that hides it's self from me but is always there when I need it. The first time Fox really came out was when I was six. I was mad another girl at the orphanage had decided to cut my hair while I was asleep. I was so mad at her that my hands seemed to get encased in ice. It didn't feel cold to my hands; it actually felt kind of warm. After several more accidents I found that I could control the ice and make it do what ever I wanted but it was only there when I was really angry or sad. I learned the hard way when I was thirteen that it worked with positive emotions too. It was my first ever kiss, his name was Rory, I'd fancied him for a long time and when he kissed me I was so happy that I wasn't paying attention and the ice came again. They found his dead body the next day they didn't know how exactly he died but all the symptoms pointed to drowning even though he was on dry land, I had filled his throat with ice without even realizing until it was too late.

There's this other part of Fox that attracts strange beings. The first time it happened I thought that I was hallucinating. I was walking back to the orphanage from the small shop down the street and I turned to go on the short cut I always take down a dark alley. Most people would be spooked by walking down a dark alley on their own but not me because for some reason I felt safe. I was half way down when I saw this man, well I thought it was a man at first because it looked like he had this horrid Halloween mask on, but it wasn't a mask. He had blood dripping from his mouth and I thought that I was going to die but then he stopped moving towards me and I stared him in the eyes and he stared back into mine. It was like he was looking into my soul and I was terrified, absolutely terrified. They say that dogs can smell fear and I was praying that this monster couldn't either. I was expecting Fox to take over like she usually did when I was really afraid but she didn't. The thing moved closer and I felt myself shaking all over. I thought about running but I knew that I had no chance of out running that thing and so I closed my eyes and got ready to die. I felt something brush against my hand and I tensed up. I felt it brush against my hand again and I opened my eyes to see it rubbing against my hand like a kitten wanting to be petted. I did the first thing that popped into my head I ran my hand along its head. I was expecting it to either bite me or run away but it didn't it started to make this low noise in the back of its throat so I stopped. As soon as I stopped the noise stopped and I realized that it was purring.

That wasn't my last encounter with those creatures. I would see them almost every time I walked along those paths. It didn't take me long to realize that they lived in dark alleys, abandoned buildings and the sewers. It didn't really surprise me considering they couldn't really blend in with people. They all acted the same way around me as that first one had. They all tried to get my attention and affection. They weren't the only strange beasts that were attracted to me. There were hundreds of others but they were the only frequent visitors.

The day I turned 18 I was told I had three days to leave the orphanage and that's where this story truly begins.

AN: Hope you like this so far. Some of the chapters will be in first person and some will be in third. All of the first person chapters will be like journal entries while the others will actually show what is happening to her. Please review if you like!!

-Jack (no not the certain captain you are all thinking of)


	2. First Meeting

Ianto Jones was unbelievably bored. The rift had been silent all day so after completing his paperwork earlier he had been sent up to man the tourist office. It didn't take him long to remember why he hated being on duty in the little office. There was nothing to do in there but sleep or stare at the wall. People rarely ever came by and he didn't blame them because the shop had the most random open hours. After staring at a wall for a few hours he dozed off unaware that a slight shift in his sleep had turned his ear com on.

"Oi, tea boy, no slacking on the job! If were not allowed to sleep at work neither are you!" Ianto had learned the hard way months ago that hearing Owen's voice first thing after waking up wasn't the best. It was almost a knee jerk reaction to yell back, "I wasn't sleeping!" but he knew that would just earn some rude comment from Owen about how they could hear his snores echoing across the hub so he swallowed a retort and leaned back in the chair hoping to get some more sleep when he heard the bell on the door ring. It was pretty shocking because not many came to the tourist office and Jack hadn't told him they were expecting anyone.

He looked up to see a young girl about sixteen or seventeen by his reckoning. She was wearing a pair of skinny jeans tucked into knee high brown boots. She had on a tan jacket with the collar up and her long curly brown hair was hanging over her face. Even with only half of her face visible he could tell that she was very pretty, maybe not in the conventional sense of the word but defiantly pretty. When she looked up to stare him in the eyes he was met with the most amazing eyes he had ever seen. The rings of silver and green caught his own eyes and it was almost like he was staring into her soul. Her words jolted him out of the gaze, "I would like to speak to Captain Jack Harkness, please."

At once Ianto was jerked back into his fake persona, "I'm sorry there is no one by that name here."

She just smiled at him and replied, "Well he's the head of Torchwood and this is one of the entrances to the Torchwood Hub so could you please tell him I want to talk to him."

Ianto wasn't about to let her know she was right so he gave her a smile and asked, "What did you say your name was?"

"Elizabeth Bryn"

"I'm sorry Miss Bryn but you must be confused this is just a tourist office!"

She didn't stop smiling but immediately her whole body tensed and in an almost deadly calm voice she said, "Well you see that's where you're wrong. I have several reasons why if your interested." At his nod she continued, "First, ask just about anyone in Cardiff about Torchwood and they will almost always point to this office. Second, I have spent weeks ensuring that this is indeed the right place and determining who I need to talk to. Third, why would you be sitting in a tiny dirty tourist office in a suit and wearing an ear com if this wasn't Torchwood?"

Ianto was genuinely startled by all of this usually if you asked someone for proof they would just say "I just know" but this girl had proof and he was impressed. He put his finger to his ear, turning on the com and said, "Jack, could you come up here real quick?"

The girl's immediate response was a brilliant smile that spread across her face and a thank you. Not even a minute later Ianto heard the familiar sound of the cog door opening and watched as Jack stepped through.

"You called, Ianto?" Jack said with the classic Harkness grin.

Ianto just nodded and pointed to the girl and started, "This girl, Elizabeth Bryn wanted to talk to you." The smile fell from his face and he gave Ianto a look that said, "Who is she and why didn't you get rid of her?" but Ianto just gave him a little shrug and walked back into the Hub letting the cog door close behind him.

* * *

AN: This chapter and the next were originally going to be all one but I decided to split it in two so I could post this today. Please read and Review!

-Jack


	3. One Foot In

Captain Jack Harkness looked over the girl standing in front of him and was quite surprised by what his eyes met with. The girl was quite attractive even though she was quite obviously very young. But that wasn't what surprised him it was the determination in her eyes. She had amazing eyes and even Jack Harkness who had met millions of other species had never seen eyes like those. Before he could even start to question her about why she was here and how she found out about Torchwood she put out her hand and began speaking, "Hello, I'm Elizabeth Bryn. I'm here to inquire about a job."

If Jack hadn't lived a very long time and long ago learned how to keep emotion off of his face he would probably be standing there with his mouth hanging open. The last thing he had ever expected this girl to do was ask for a job and after the initial shock had worn off he couldn't help it and started laughing.

Her face was immediately covered by a disapproving frown. "I would like to know what you find so humorous about this situation?"

Instantly Jack stopped laughing and went serious, "Sorry, we're not hiring."

"You won't even listen to what I have to say?" she asked almost incredulously.

"We're not hiring, there isn't really a point. But as a consolation how about I take you out for a drink." He tacked a wink and the trademark Harkness smile on to the end but there was no fooling her and he saw she immediately tensed up. "No, I would rather like keeping my memories. Any ways I react badly to retcon it makes me sick for about a week."

Jack's frown deepened and he didn't comment at first and she just stared at him with those strange eyes like she was looking inside him. Eyes that seemed much too old for the body they inhabited. He had seen eyes like those before but he couldn't remember where.

Then Jack decided to break the silence, "There are several reasons why we won't be hiring you, first you are way to young to get mixed up with Torchwood, second there isn't a job available, third you would break under the pressure of this job in a day, so I'm just saving you some time, and fourth there isn't a job available. Goodbye!" With that Jack spun around and left with the cog door closing in his wake. She stared after him for a second in shock and then she felt the anger start to flow through her and that immediately sent her mind into action. Calming her down was a task because she was so riled up but she was able to succeed without the ice coming out.

She stormed out the building crashing into someone just outside the door. After steadying herself she looked up into a pair of dark blue eyes nearly hidden under a curtain of dark brown hair. He smiled and immediately she was struck by how handsome he was. He was tall about 6'3" and towered over her. He was skinny with lanky muscles. The first thing that popped into her mind was _ruggedly handsome. _He let out an awkward chuckle. "Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

She looked up and met his eyes for the first time, "No, It was my fault." And she heard as his breath caught and she was ready for all manner of reactions but she never expected the words that emerged from his mouth, "Lizzie, it's me George. George Wilt."

"George, my best friend George, George with the geeky glasses, George who was obsessed with science, George who got adopted and never spoke to me again, George?"

She said without taking a single breath.

He winced, "Only some of that is true. Yes your best friend. Yes, with the geeky glasses, I have contacts now. I'm still obsessed with science I'm trying to get a degree in neurological medical science. Yes, I got adopted but the only reason I never spoke to you again was because the family who adopted me moved to London and even though I tried to contact you they wouldn't let me. Yes, Lizzie it's George."

She looked like she was debating between wanting to squeal and hug him and wanting to slap him. After a few seconds deliberation she went up on her tippy toes and threw her arms around his neck. He let out a quiet chuckle before putting his arms around her waist and picking her up and swinging her around.

After settling her back on the ground he smiled down at her. "I would love to stay and reminisce but I'm kind of working." He said and for the first time she noticed the pizza boxes in his hands.

"I thought you were training to be some fancy doctor." She asked confused.

"I am but medical school doesn't pay for it's self so I work at the pizza hut down the street."

"Oh, well we have to get together sometime." She pulled a piece of paper from he rbag and scribbled down some numbers, "This is my phone number. Call me when you want to get together."

"Thanks I will." He said and she could hear the honesty in his voice.

"Who are you delivering to over here? We're in the middle of town no one lives here." She asked confused but she had an inkling of who it was.

"Oh, yeah Torchwood orders more food than you could possibly imagine." At his words a smirk rose to her face. She dug through her bag for a second before pulling out a sharpie. She took the lid off and leaned over to scribble on the pizza box, _You really should give me a chance. –Elizabeth Bryn._

George looked at her like she was crazy and gasped out, ""Hey, I have to deliver that!" But Elizabeth just smirked and chuckled, "I'm counting on it, one foot in!"

He just rolled his eyes and said, "Your crazy." Before walking off.


End file.
